In recent years more and more customers choose floor heating. It allows, among others, to effectively reduce building heating costs, and to part with radiators, which are unattractive for the interior.
Thanks to underfloor heating the heat in the room is distributed evenly and the floor temperature is only slightly higher than the ambient temperature. The amount of energy consumed is much lower, as are the amounts on your bill. Another unquestionable advantage is comfort – anyone who has walked barefoot on such a floor at least once knows it
It is worth knowing that a wooden or laminate floor can also be heated, but it requires more care. As you can see, such heating will work in almost any space.
Underfloor heating are pipes placed in the floor screed and connected to the heat source. Therefore, radiators around the walls are no longer needed – the floor becomes one big radiator, of which pipes are the basic element. They can be laid in different ways. For this, you need insulation in the form of foil, tape or polystyrene board, which will help to keep the system free from moisture, among other things, as well as a distributor and control automation.
Underfloor heating can be water or electric. Water heating requires more work and money to install, but later operation is much cheaper than electric. However, if you do not want to start renovation from scratch or you live in a block of flats, it will be better to install electric heating. This is due to, among other things, the thickness of the floor layer, in which the pipes have to fit, and the necessity to supply them with water. Many apartment designers do not take this approach into account.
It is no coincidence that more and more people are opting for underfloor heating. Such an installation has very many advantages. First – high thermal comfort. Such a floor maintains heat for a long time, which is distributed evenly throughout the apartment. In addition, it needs much less energy for heating than in the case of this traditional heating.
Secondly, due to the fact that there is no need for clumsy radiators around us spoiling the required interior design – the new installation is completely invisible – dust does not settle on them and air circulation is improved, which is almost ideal for allergy sufferers. In addition, the air is not so dry, its humidity is increased.
Also with underfloor heating there are some disadvantages. The biggest one is that if we decide on similar heating as part of a decent house renovation, we are forced to tear out most of the floor. The same is true in case of failure. The cost of installing a similar heating system is higher than a traditional one. To ensure maximum safety and functionality of such a floor, it is better to resign from fluffy carpets and bet on, for example, tiles
>> See also: Wooden floors – how to care for them?
There are also limitations in the matter of planned equipment – it is better not to put heavy furniture on them. Floor heating requires more complicated control than the traditional heating system. In case of a house, it is best to use the division into several heated zones. Unfortunately, it is not possible to decrease or increase heating quickly (the floor heats up slowly and loses heat slowly).
Underfloor heating provides comfort, lowers bills and works well both in a house and apartment. However, before we decide on floor heating, we should plan everything well, choose appropriate system and calculate, if it will be suitable and sufficient for our needs (estimate so-called heat losses).
